The Montreal Canadiens will seek to tame Colorado Avalanche captain Nathan MacKinnon who is on a seven game points streak.
GAME DAY PREVIEW | Montreal Canadiens (17-18-7) vs Colorado Avalanche (28-12-3)
GAME DAY: Montreal Canadiens vs Colorado Avalanche.Game Preview
Roster News
Tanner Pearson skated on his own on Monday morning with Adam Nicholas as he continues his rehabilitation from an upper-body injury sustained on December 9th.
Jake Allen (4-8-2 / 3.52 GAA / .900 SV%) is the confirmed starter for Montreal.
Last Game
The Canadiens losing streak reached three games as Mike Matheson took a costly penalty in overtime.
Last game: MTL 1 vs EDM 2 | F
Players to Watch
- Joshua Roy - Nerves were clearly at play for Roy's NHL debut. The 20-year-old mishandled the puck and committed numerous turnovers on Saturday night. He will be expected to have a much better performance against the Avs.
Matchup for Game 43, Home Game 23
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC. | January 15, 7:00 PM ET | TV: SN, RDS, ALT, ESPN
Pre-Game
Kent Hughes
- "The first disappointment is the injuries, again this year. With the injuries we have, we are asking players to play above what they would normally play."
Projected Canadiens Lineup (subject to change)
Forwards
22 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
49 Rafael Harvey-Pinard - 71 Jake Evans - 11 Brendan Gallagher
89 Joshua Roy - 91 Sean Monahan - 40 Joel Armia
55 Michael Pezzetta - 13 Mitchell Stephens - 56 Jesse Ylonen
Defensemen
21 Kaiden Guhle - 8 Mike Matheson
47 Jayden Struble - 58 David Savard
54 Jordan Harris - 26 Johnathan Kovacevic
Goaltenders
Starter: 34 Jake Allen (4-8-2 / 3.52 GAA / .900 SV%)
Alternate: 30 Cayden Primeau
Out of the lineup
Scratches: Justin Barron, Sam Montembeault
Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Alex Newhook (lower body), Tanner Pearson (upper body), Christian Dvorak (upper body), Josh Anderson (lower body)
Visiting Bench
The Avalanche is on a five-game road trip. They have a record of 9-1-1 in their last 11 games.
Colorado has scored a power play goal in each their last seven contests.
The Avalanche defensemen have scored 33 goals and 125 points which is tops in the NHL.
Alexandar Georgiev (24-9-2 / 2.89 GAA / .897 SV%) is the likely starter for Colorado.
Game Expectations
The Canadiens begin a busy week with a game at home against the Avalanche. They will continue with three games on the road in New Jersey, Ottawa and Boston.
Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world.
Gretzky Signature Series.